1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved light, and particularly, a new and improved portable light which can be used in motor vehicles for interior illumination and emergency repair work. For example, the light of this invention is equipped with a suction cup and reel arrangement whereby the light can be affixed temporarily to substantially any smooth surface such as an automobile fender, and the cord unwound from the reel to the degree necessary to plug the unwound cord into a vehicle cigarette lighter. The device can also be used to illuminate the interior of a vehicle and is compact and easily stored when not in use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, various types of portable lights have been developed for various purposes in the prior art. Such a light is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,275,299 to Robert H. Hummert, which patent discloses a portable spot lamp having a handle and a rubber suction cup for removable attachment to a smooth surface such as the window of an automobile. While the lamp disclosed by this patent is equipped with a handle for easy manipulation, it provides no mechanism by which the cord can be easily stored and unwound to facilitate use of the light at a distance from the power source. Furthermore, the light is so designed as to throw a wide beam when turned on, and would therefore be unsuitable for use in an automobile or other vehicle for doing close work such as reading a map or the like, since it would produce a substantial glare. Yet another disadvantage of such a lens design, which permits a wide but relatively short range beam, is the difficulty of locating objects at a distance from the vehicle in the dark, since the beam is not designed to penetrate the darkness to an effective degree. A still further shortcoming of prior art portable lamps such as that illustrated in the patent, is the inability of a user to manipulate the light after it is once positioned by means of the suction cup in a particular location on an automobile or other smooth surface, without repositioning the suction cup. Thus, in order to focus the beam to a precise position after the lamp is positioned on a desired surface, the suction cup must be de-activated, and the lamp removed and again repositioned.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable light equipped with a suction cup for positioning the light on substantially any smooth surface, and a reel for convenient winding and unwinding of the cord supplying power to the light.
Another object of this invention is to provide a portable light which is equipped with a beam concentrator and improved lens reflector which serve to increase the beam distance, concentrate the light and to permit glare-free use of the light inside a vehicle for map reading and other work requiring interior illumination of the vehicle.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved portable light which can be plugged into the cigarette lighter of an automobile or other vehicle, moved to various locations outside of the vehicle by unwinding the power cord from a reel attached to the light, positioned by means of a suction cup attached to the reel to substantially any smooth surface of the vehicle, and manipulated by means of a swivel attachment to multiple beam positions while mounted in the same location on the vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compact, lightweight, portable light equipped with a reel for storing the power cord, which light and cord can be easily and conveniently stored when not in use.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a portable light equipped with a reel and suction cup and fitted with an improved beam concentrator and lens reflector, the latter of which not only enables the light to be used for map reading, and the like, without glare, but also provides an exceptionally intense beam at long distances from the light.